Because it seemed not to be the matter at hand for several pages maybe? I maybe eventually bite the bullet, but you hardly can argue most people didn't seem care so far, wouldn't you?

I think if something interests you and you think others may find it interesting, it's normal to write about it. The fact that it hasn't been discussed could be down to any number of reasons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukhas

Don't think James went for the money; there's plenty money at Monaco. The fame and prestige of the club alone were IMO more important. And I believe Monaco would've sold regardless. He's from Portugal (figuratively speaking), a country that has a good history of selling their players for big bucks. He did a alright L1 season and a good WC. You don't know if he'll be the next Forlan in this regard. Given the steep loss in money Rybololev faced due to his divorce that may have forced him to rethink his strategy, 80+M€ minus bonuses (and maybe 90M€+ given that Real understates the transfer value a lot) is good money for a promising player you don't know if he will confirm or not.

Monaco wanted the money. They won't get an offer that good any time soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukhas

Doing a Tottenham? tottenham doesn't have a defence to begin with, that's a steep comparison. Well I believe they didn't take Rémy to actually replace Suarez in any way. My guess being that Sturridge will have this role. Me thinks that Rémy despite favouring the axis will be once more exiled to the wing and used for sprinting. I actually doubt LFC has the bucks, Suarez's transfer or not, to attract a big star either. So, go a tier lower and fill for PL.

Obviously the parallel between the two clubs is in the sale of a highly valued footballer to use the proceeds to buy a lot of average players.

Lyon is doing it, but not before a few years. Their formation centre keeps them afloat; I think they have the most players in big championships coming out of their centre just behind Barcelona. So they may stay competitive by virtue of this. We shall see when the stadium is finished and will belong to them at 100%; common place in several other championships but a rarity in France.

Marseille is trying it; they've eventually put Anigo on the bus (more or less fictive job) and throwing all their hopes into Bielsa. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has made clear however that her financial input will be limited AND that the club will need to address their financial situation quickly. The fortune left by Robert belongs to her children and while she ain't poor, she hasn't that much personal fortune to invest into football despite assuring the club's funds in case it was needed. As a result, the club recorded its first beneficial yearly result in years and probably a decade or more. The number is miserable, but while the club is still run down by "supporters" trying to make as much money out of it as possible, the funds are more healthy so far. However they've threatened not to play in Velodrome as the rent asked by the city of Marseille is incredibly high and out of any considerate proportions.
EDIT: BTW, if any Europe playing club is interested, Valbuena sells for... 5 to 7M€.

Bordeaux is dead. After Blanc left, the previous L1 champions players had their pay raised, but couldn't produce the game needed to stay on top. Which made the funds of the club suffer since you can't even sell them with the salary they ask compared to their actual performances. The previous coach (Francis Gillot) gave up despite winning French Cup in 2013 -understandably so IMO. The club belongs to the TV Group M6, and they don't put a single coin into it. All the decent players are sold (last example is Obraniak), nothing but goats with a (nice) Puma jersey eating the grass there. I can't see what (besides being sold to rich investors) would save the club. The owners have absolutely no ambition whatsoever. I am curious to see what Willy Sagnol (ex-coach of the "Espoirs") will bring to the table and if he will be able to change anything.

That aside, French football has little ambition. The club culture isn't as strong as in other countries, the league in itself is fairly balanced which can lead to some surprises from one year to another. The league standings in themselves aren't always uninteresting because of the very balanced championship, but the lack of stability -or rather "untouchable clubs" like you have in Spain (maybe not up to this point but you get the idea) kind of hurt the league. Which also means that a team strong one year may not have the solidity to carry on to the following year as players may ask for extra pocket money or want to leave while they still shine. That's why you have so many players burying themselves in the likes of Newcastle, West Bromwich Albions, previously QPR and the likes. I still don't know why Lloris extended his contract at Tottenham...
The teams do not always search glory of trophies or simply don't want to put up with the added matches sit would cause. Bar Lyon and the new-riches, little of them are trying to go far in European competitions. Most owners are satisfied with taking the extra money and concentrate on the league to qualify again and get out the same way -but with their pockets full. Still ditto for Marseille who tried last year but eventually felt short too often to gather even a single point.

Thanks for the summary.

It's interesting how French club football seems to lack ambition, despite producing so many fantastic players, especially when compared to what the Top 14 has managed to achieve in European club rugby. I always found it odd that one of the big economic powers of Europe, with a strong national team, great youth production system, and decent stadiums, can end up being an exporter of its best talent. As you say, maybe it's because French club culture has not been attractive enough to build the league into a global product over the past 20 years.

I totally agree about more players now being happy to 'bury themselves' at clubs where they will earn more money, but where they will not progress. In England the same thing has happened with a lot of talented young guys who were establishing themselves, then chose to move to bigger clubs where they would never play and their career progression would be killed (Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair etc). This summer many clubs would have wanted to sign Bacary Sagna (on a Bosman), but he chose one of the few clubs in the world where he won't be first choice, and so won't play much (Zabaleta is probably the best RB in the PL, and Sagna is perhaps 2nd best).

As for Lloris, I never understood why Wenger didn't go for him when he was available for EUR 10m, and at a time where we had great instability at the position.

It's interesting how French club football seems to lack ambition, despite producing so many fantastic players, especially when compared to what the Top 14 has managed to achieve in European club rugby. I always found it odd that one of the big economic powers of Europe, with a strong national team, great youth production system, and decent stadiums, can end up being an exporter of its best talent. As you say, maybe it's because French club culture has not been attractive enough to build the league into a global product over the past 20 years.

I totally agree about more players now being happy to 'bury themselves' at clubs where they will earn more money, but where they will not progress. In England the same thing has happened with a lot of talented young guys who were establishing themselves, then chose to move to bigger clubs where they would never play and their career progression would be killed (Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair etc). This summer many clubs would have wanted to sign Bacary Sagna (on a Bosman), but he chose one of the few clubs in the world where he won't be first choice, and so won't play much (Zabaleta is probably the best RB in the PL, and Sagna is perhaps 2nd best).

As for Lloris, I never understood why Wenger didn't go for him when he was available for EUR 10m, and at a time where we had great instability at the position.

As a further addition to that already lengthy and plenty edited post, I also must mention that the lack of ambition also has sources not only in the beliefs but also in the very existence of the DNCG. I already talked about them before, but let's say you don't know. Basically, they are the people who look at your funds and decide whether you're in or out. FFP? Not even close. FFP only cares about your balance; they don't look at your debts, they only care about if you waste more money than you win: that's why it has fair-play in its name. DNCG doesn't care where the money (legally of course) comes from, they only care about the health of the club. that's why you have the R.C. Lens, that earned its comeback in L1 that may stay in L2 regardless because the DNCG doesn't believe in their economics in any way. Not to mention the catastrophic communication and handling the case had by Lens' president who outright lied about receiving 10 more millions to validate the budget from his main
You also have the story of Luzenac, a very small village that earned on the pitch the right to play in L2 but may still not because DNCG.

It really sounds disgusting given that the players earned the promotion, but it's not really ill thinking: the DNCG doesn't want clubs not paying their employees or crashing down financially speaking because these clubs saw themselves bigger than they are. Le Mans was sent straight 4 divisions down when it happened after they couldn't come back to L1 due to their new stadium -and especially the abusive rent that came with it. Which means that even if you had a satisfying season, you have to be very careful about how you invest that money next season because "they" are watching you.

On the flip side, it also means that you're not going to see catastrophic situations like in few Spain clubs either. I do believe that if there was such an organization in Spain, the BBVA barely would have enough clubs to be launched by August. Barça and RMFC simply sucks all the money made through TV. On the contrary, the money income is extremely balanced between clubs in England.

And actually there was a point in the 90's where France was on the top if not near the top of the UEFA rankings. As you may have noticed, few clubs possess their stadiums either. The problem isn't reaching the top per say, but sustaining it and little to no clubs have/had what it takes and especially the luck to do so. Also, not only Marseille is going to be abused by excessive rents, they also were refused the right to even attempt to buy the stadium to begin with...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russeljones

I think if something interests you and you think others may find it interesting, it's normal to write about it. The fact that it hasn't been discussed could be down to any number of reasons.

Thanks for basically saying what I've said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russeljones

Monaco wanted the money. They won't get an offer that good any time soon.

I highly doubt it's that simple as "wanting the money". Rybolovlev may not be as rich as before, he's still sitting on several billions. Monaco doesn't need money. The offer is indeed good, but the money isn't the real reason IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russeljones

Obviously the parallel between the two clubs is in the sale of a highly valued footballer to use the proceeds to buy a lot of average players.

I believe Liverpool doesn't have the attractiveness nor the funds yet to buy the player they really want. It's that simple. However I do believe the team is more balanced than Tottenham. Well Remy isn't awful either. At least, not as awful as the Spurs' defence line...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russeljones

Not sure it's that simple. I think they paid it to deny another Premier League club. You figure out which

If they did, that's uselessly poisoning the well for little reasons whatsover. Even if footballers tend to be stupid, you wouldn't sign in any club for 40M€ just for the paycheck and Premier League logo. It's nothing but Porto's buyout clause after all, so they complied but did not put that much money on the top either. That said, and even if it's overpaid, the number of young talented defenders isn't exactly very, very high either. I do believe Mangala happens to be in this category. We'll see if he signs to begin with.

The formation makes sense imo, Holland were pretty weak at centre back, but it worked for them. Man Utd are weak in that area with Jones, Smalling and Evans, so it looks good on that front.

What's interesting for me is if it'll get figured out over the course of a season, it's hard to pick it apart in knockout football like the World Cup, but easier over 38 games.

I am sure they will revert to 451. United doesn't have the players for 3 at the back. Smalling is a liability, Evans to a lesser extent, as well. Jones is an enigma for me. That away leg Real match was probably the most impressive showing from him in a Man Utd shirt. I want him to go on a streak of solid matches. Right now he looks like he is getting injured in every match.

I am sure they will revert to 451. United doesn't have the players for 3 at the back. Smalling is a liability, Evans to a lesser extent, as well. Jones is an enigma for me. That away leg Real match was probably the most impressive showing from him in a Man Utd shirt. I want him to go on a streak of solid matches. Right now he looks like he is getting injured in every match.

Yeah the manager will no doubt change the formation at some point, you can't really go a whole year playing the same way. Home or away, playing against a defensive team or an attacking one, a talented team or one up against relegation etc.. Each has their own different set of problems you need to overcome.

No doubt he'll give the 3 at the back a good go at some point, it'll be interesting to see how that works out. Could be a good option against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool or City, if it works against Spain, it could be lethal against those attacking, possession based sides.

They've brought in £80m this summer with the sales of Shaw, Lallana, Lovren, and Lambert. Their record signing Osvaldo's departure seems to be imminent, while Schneiderlin has been heavily linked with a move away (£20m+), as has to a lesser extent Callum Chambers.

Southampton have been able to progress while selling their best young talent in recent years because their youth development is exceptional (Bale, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc), but this summer they've lost their manager and half their first XI, including all their best players.

I know the new owners (I think the children of the previous owner) are less interested in the club, and I wonder if with £110m+ from player trading this summer (assuming Schneiderlin and Osvaldo leave), and the extra TV revenue, they'll be looking to take some money out of the club and then sell it on.

It's a great club with their youth academy and catchment on the south coast, so it would be a real shame if their momentum was halted now.

^
Don't be silly. As Arsene will tell you, Diaby is like a new signing, and we don't need a new holding midfielder because Wilshere can be converted to that position, despite having neither the presence nor intelligence to play there.

Not all doom and gloom, but it's starting to look worryingly like Arsene is feeling confident that he can roll the dice again, and hope to get away with heading into a season light at CF and at CB.

Looks like Chambers to Arsenal is going through, so we get one more of their academy products, and Southampton lose ANOTHER first team player.

^
Don't be silly. As Arsene will tell you, Diaby is like a new signing, and we don't need a new holding midfielder because Wilshere can be converted to that position, despite having neither the presence nor intelligence to play there.

Not all doom and gloom, but it's starting to look worryingly like Arsene is feeling confident that he can roll the dice again, and hope to get away with heading into a season light at CF and at CB.

Looks like Chambers to Arsenal is going through, so we get one more of their academy products, and Southampton lose ANOTHER first team player.

Arsenal are doing well, the keeper signing is good (although isn't that Oxlade-Chamberlain's best position? ). They need a centre back, Schneiderlin or Bender to play next to Ramsey would be a sensible move. Where do they want to play Sanchez? He could be the centre forward, it's probably his best position.

Even so, Drogba is the Arsenal killer. Fabregas getting a couple of goals and couple of assists for Drogba. Yeah, that should be sweet. Looks highly likely that the 6-0 from last year will be bettered if you ask me

I still think we need a 360 degree CF, who can play with his back to goal, get involved in the inter-play, and score prolifically, like a Van Persie. Giroud can do parts of that, but he's not quite good enough at the very highest level, against the very best defenders. Sanchez is obviously a different type of player, but I see him as an upgrade on some players that we already have, like Walcott. Even the big teams sit deep against us, so I really think we need a powerful CF who can do everything. At the start of the summer I hoped for Benzema, Mandzukic, or Dzeko.

As for 6-0 etc, that's all to do with suicidal tactics / disrespect for the opposition, and not so much to do with the players. But yes, I do still have nightmares about Kolo and Gallas, or Senderos and Djourou, trying to deal with Drogba!

Just seen that we're paying £16m for Chambers! WHAT?!? I didn't think we'd have any interest at any more than half that. EDIT: OK, the Mirror claim it's £7m, the Telegraph £10m, the Mail £12m, and the BBC £16m, so I guess they're all just making it up, or someone at Southampton is very angry about what has happened this summer, and is trolling them all.

I still think we need a 360 degree CF, who can play with his back to goal, get involved in the inter-play, and score prolifically, like a Van Persie. Giroud can do parts of that, but he's not quite good enough at the very highest level, against the very best defenders. Sanchez is obviously a different type of player, but I see him as an upgrade on some players that we already have, like Walcott. Even the big teams sit deep against us, so I really think we need a powerful CF who can do everything. At the start of the summer I hoped for Benzema, Mandzukic, or Dzeko.

As for 6-0 etc, that's all to do with suicidal tactics / disrespect for the opposition, and not so much to do with the players. But yes, I do still have nightmares about Kolo and Gallas, or Senderos and Djourou, trying to deal with Drogba!

Just seen that we're paying £16m for Chambers! WHAT?!? I didn't think we'd have any interest at any more than half that. EDIT: OK, the Mirror claim it's £7m, the Telegraph £10m, the Mail £12m, and the BBC £16m, so I guess they're all just making it up, or someone at Southampton is very angry about what has happened this summer, and is trolling them all.

Yeah, agree on Sanchez not really being the answer for the centre forward problem. I thought at the time that he was coming to play that role though, as you say, Arsenal already have good strength in the number 10 and wide areas so spending big money on another didn't make much sense. Also he wanted to move because he wants that central role and he wasn't going to get it at Barcelona, so you'd of thought he would of talked to Wenger about that before agreeing to the deal.

Yeah the prices for Chambers seem way too high, yet another example of how being English and having a bit of potential gets you the big money! Debuchy was a great signing (we had the choice between him and Azpilicueta a few years ago), quite why they want to spend big on a backup, i'm not sure.

I still think we need a 360 degree CF, who can play with his back to goal, get involved in the inter-play, and score prolifically, like a Van Persie. Giroud can do parts of that, but he's not quite good enough at the very highest level, against the very best defenders. Sanchez is obviously a different type of player, but I see him as an upgrade on some players that we already have, like Walcott. Even the big teams sit deep against us, so I really think we need a powerful CF who can do everything. At the start of the summer I hoped for Benzema, Mandzukic, or Dzeko.

As for 6-0 etc, that's all to do with suicidal tactics / disrespect for the opposition, and not so much to do with the players. But yes, I do still have nightmares about Kolo and Gallas, or Senderos and Djourou, trying to deal with Drogba!

Just seen that we're paying £16m for Chambers! WHAT?!? I didn't think we'd have any interest at any more than half that. EDIT: OK, the Mirror claim it's £7m, the Telegraph £10m, the Mail £12m, and the BBC £16m, so I guess they're all just making it up, or someone at Southampton is very angry about what has happened this summer, and is trolling them all.

I have a fervent belief Arsene does not understand the 'striker' problem. He expects his team to pass the ball into the opposition goal.